While 200 of them were detained in Ahmedabad , 100 people were taken into custody in Vadodara, 300 activists in Surendranagar and Patan districts and 200 people were detained in Surat,police said.

The protest began from Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue near Sarangpur. Traffic remained affected for several hours after agitators blocked the road.

Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) vice-president Girish Parmar said the state government was “insensitive” to the threat faced by Dalit community in the state. He said none of the BJP dalit leaders turned up for the protest.

“In the last 40 days, eight dalits have been killed across the state, three dalit women have been raped and seven murder attempts have been made against the community,” Parmar claimed.

Dalits on Hunger strike

Demanding arrest of police officers involved in the police firing at Thangadh in which three dalits were killed, five people from the village are on indefinite fast for the last ten days in front of the Surendranagar District Collector office.

They are also demanding justice for families of the deceased. Those staging the fast include parents of two of the victims.

Three persons, including a boy, were killed after police opened fire in air at Thangadh town in Surendranagar district following violent clashes involving Dalit and Bharwad communities on September 22.

The five are Manju Parmar, Valji Rathod, Jivabhai Chauhan, Kanabhai Parmar and Ashok Makwana. Manju is mother of Prakash and Valji is father of Mehul. Prakash and Mehul were killed in the police firing.

Police have registered a case of attempt to murder, rioting and other criminal charges against eight dalits, who are at present lodged in jail.

Following a public furore over the killings and alleged police atrocities, three separate FIRs were registered against police officers for murder but they have not been arrested so far. The accused police officers include police sub-inspector K P Jadeja.